3 eggs, 2 carrots, 1 yogurt cake.

Upon arriving home from work today, I opened the fridge to find a shocking sight: only one carton of extra large eggs in the refrigerator -- and just seven eggs inside! I cooked four for dinner, leaving three for the sake of my sister's sanity. Seeing those three eggs together reminded me of yogurt cake.

I love yogurt cake. I went through a phase where I made one every couple of weeks. Yogurt, like egg yolks and fat, is a magical agent that gives rise to a nice moist cake crumb. Yogurt loaves can be disappointingly plain, though, so you have to make sure to add lots of flavor. Ina Garten's famous lemon yogurt cake recipe is my old standby.

Today's recipe has been adapted from her version; the carrots were a last-minute addition, since I had two of them aging in my produce drawer anyway. I reduced the amount of oil because of the whole milk yogurt, and added some cinnamon and minced ginger for flavor. It turned out pretty darn moist and slightly tangy from the yogurt, with gingery undertones, and a wholesome texture from the carrots. The nice and crunchy top crust ain't bad either. The verdict is yum.

Carrot Yogurt Cake
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. whole milk yogurt
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c. oil
2 carrots, shredded (about 1 cup's worth)
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk yogurt and sugar together until smooth. Whisk in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, working out most of the lumps. Incorporate the oil; add the shredded carrots and ginger last. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour until a knife comes out clean. Enjoy!